While the
first two weeks of the USCL featured teams playing within their own division,
the third week saw teams spread their wings and pay a visit to their conference
rivals. Only three teams were able to maintain their perfect record to make it
to 3-0, the envy of all other USCL teams. The San Francisco Mechanics went
after the perennial underdog Carolina Cobras, and solidified their standings
atop the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, both the Miami Sharks and the Dallas
Destiny continued their winning ways with wins over the Los Angeles Vibe and
the Arizona Scorpions-Miami and Dallas currently share top honors in the South
Division. The South ended up winning the "divisional battle" 3-1, after the
Saint Louis Arch Bishops squeaked out a win against the Seattle Sluggers.

The
divisional battle within the Eastern Conference was also fairly clean cut, with
the Northeast scoring 3.5-0.5 in matches against the Atlantic. Although some
fans might take pride in having the stronger division, to the teams it simply
means they'll have a tougher road to the playoffs! The Connecticut Dreadnoughts
defeated the Philadelphia Inventors to increase their record to 2.5-0.5, as did
the New England Nor'easters, winning against the polished New York Knights. The
Boston Blitz won a close one against the New Jersey Knockouts, while the
Baltimore Kingfishers drew their match with the Manhattan Applesauce.

Here are
the complete results, with the slightly more fortunate team in bold:

44...e3! With this break GM Becerra launched
a decisive attack. White has no time to orchestrate any defense or to generate
some meaningful counterplay. 45.f3 (Considering the course of the game,
perhaps 45.f4 was the most stubborn defense, but after 45...Qxf4 Black's
position is dominant.) 45...e2! An experienced player understands that
this is an "only move". Black opens lines and breaks through White's
defenses. Otherwise White would play Be2 and there would be no way in. 46.Bxe2
Rxe2! Of course! Black gets rid of White's main defender. As Kasparov would
put it, this isn't a sacrifice, it's just a trade. Black's rook was worth just
as much as White's light squared bishop. 47.Rxe2 Qxf3

And thus Black's queen and rook are
more or less unstoppable against White's king. 48.Rg2 Qd1+ 49.Kh2 Rf1
50.Qd8+ Bf8

Black has a number of wins here, but
it's far from impossible to let the win slip. Becerra doesn't choose the
strongest continuation, but keeps the game winning and in his control until the
end. 53...Qd4+ (53...Rf1+ was the computer's choice, but it's much too
sinister for a human to spot under the stress of time pressure. 54.Rf2 Re1!
This positional move (putting the rook on an open file!) is the point, Black
threatens Qe3 mate, and White has no serious defense. 55.Rf3 Qd2+ 56.Kg3 Rg1#) 54.Kf3
Qd3+ 55.Kf4 Qd4+ 56.Kf3 Rxh3+! If you can't find checkmate, just win the
queen! A pragmatic solution. 57.Qxh3 Qd3+ 58.Kf2 Qxh3

Black's queen and bishop are much
stronger than White's uncoordinated rooks. The game ended a few moves later.
0-1GM Michael Rohde (CON) - FM David
Hua (PHI) 1-0 (game
of the week 3rd place)

After already sacrificing the
exchange, GM Rohde found 20.Bxh7+! A variation of the classical
"Greek Gift" sacrifice, with White setting up a menacing battery
along the h-file. 20...Kxh7 21.Qh5+ Kg8 22.Rc3!

Another thematic attacking idea -
the rook lift. As there's no way to defend the h-file, Black is hopelessly
lost. 22...Bxg5 23.fxg5 Re1+ 24.Kf2 Qe8 25.Rh3

A picturesque position, as both
kings seem to be in a difficult spot. And it's Black's turn? Sounds like
trouble for White. Oh wait, what's that? No entry squares for the queen?
Hmm...that changes things! Black was forced to play the desperate 25...Qe2+
26.Qxe2 Rxe2+ 27.Kxe2 and resigned a few moves later. 1-0

In a contest introduced by yours
truly way back in 2010, the USCL finally took notice and made it official. Here
is Week Three's Move of the Week:

NM Ian Schoch (BAL) - NM Ryan
Goldenberg (MAN) 0-1 (move
of the week!)62...b6!! An idea you'd rather not forget.
White gets an unpleasant choice between trapping their own bishop or allowing
Black a passed pawn on the queenside. 63.cxb6 (63.Bxb6 Kxb4-+ is
hopeless. White's king is stuck on the first rank and will have to give up
their bishop for the a-pawn.) 63...Bb7 The point. White can't move their
bishop without giving up their b-pawn. 64.Ke2 Kb3 65.Ke3 Kc2 66.Ke2 g2
67.Kf2 Kd3 68.Kg1 Ke2

The zugzwang that wins the game. Kh2
is met with Kf2, so White is forced to give up their b-pawn. The game concluded
as expected: 69.b5 axb5 70.Bb4 Kd3 71.Kf2 Kc4 72.Be7 b4 73.Bf6 Kd3 74.Be7 b3
75.Ba3 Kc2 76.Kg1 b2 77.Bxb2 Kxb2 It's interesting how opposite colored
bishop endings are either painfully boring or refreshingly artistic. Kudos to
Ryan Goldenberg! 0-1Week Four starts on Tuesday, September 17. Find games, results,
standings, line-ups, blogs, and more on www.uschessleague.com. Also make sure to check out www.chess.com/tv Tuesday and Wednesday nights for live coverage of every USCL
match! The coverage is open to all members (membership is free), and often
features league commissioner IM Greg Shahade, and other special guests.
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